Assiniboia hoping to follow up on record-setting 2020 season

After putting up record handle numbers in 2020, there is optimism that Assiniboia Downs will have another successful season in 2021 during a 51-day meet that begins Monday at the Manitoba oval.

The meet, which was delayed a week due to travel delays experienced by some horsemen, goes until mid-September, with racing conducted primarily on a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule, with a post time of 7:30 p.m. Central.

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Assiniboia CEO Darren Dunn said the fact that Assiniboia was the first Canadian track to race in 2020, a year marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, helped to push the daily average handle to $1,265,278. He said there have been improvements to the racing product for this year.

“I am quietly confident that we can pick up where we left off last year, when we established new wagering records,” Dunn said. “We recently raised the purses across the board and have been able to attract a solid horse inventory that should ensure we have the field size that will appeal to bettors. In addition, we lowered our takeout and upgraded our television graphics display while also being in a position to offer our product in an HD format for the first time.”

The takeout on the pick three, trifecta, superfecta, and Jackpot Hi 5 wagers are being reduced by 2.5 percent. There will be a 1 percent takeout reduction on the double, exacta, quinella, and pick five wagers.

The pick four, which already has a low 15.95 percent takeout, will have a guaranteed pool of $25,000 on opening day.

Dunn said the meet will begin without spectators.

“I do not have high expectations that we will be able to return fans in a meaningful way this season,” Dunn said. “Restricted limits should emerge at some point, though.”

Dunn said putting together a jockey colony for this year was a major challenge.

“When the federal government put travel restrictions in place to the Caribbean, we went from 17 jockeys to three in the stroke of a pen,” Dunn explained. “We had to get creative, while not trying to cannibalize our neighboring Canadian tracks. We ended up putting a recruitment incentive in place with the intent to attract interest from the U.S. This worked to the point that we were able to rebuild to a total of 14 jockeys in the room. That’s a few less than I would prefer, but a lot better than three.”

Dunn said the purse increases included a boost for stakes from $30,000 to $35,000. The Manitoba Derby has been returned to its traditional purse of $100,000 after several years at $75,000 prior to 2020, when it was worth just $60,000 due to the pandemic.